Former First Lady Laura Bush will be the keynote speaker Wednesday at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center's annual 2017 Humanitarian Awards Dinner.

The dinner is the museum's largest fundraising event of the year, but it also honors those who have supported the museum, officials say.

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In the past, high-ranking dignitaries including the governor and mayor as well as U.S. senators and representatives have attended the event, which is held every year at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

"Each spring, the museum hosts its signature event, the Humanitarian Awards Dinner," according to information about the event on the museum's website. "Now the largest fundraising dinner in the city of Chicago, this high profile evening pays tribute to pillars in our community, Holocaust survivors and highlights the museum's achievements."

Past dinners have been attended by more than 2,000 people, according to museum officials.

Humanitarians being honored March 8 include Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz, founder, chairman and CEO of ComPsych Corporation, which bills itself as the world's largest provider of employee assistance programs. Also honored will be E. Scott Santi, chairman and CEO of Illinois Tool Works Inc., one of the world's leading diversified manufacturers of specialized industrial equipment, consumables, and related service businesses, according to the company.